This diploma thesis is focused on child protection in the context of divorce or separation of his parents and deals with the role of the authority of social - legal protection of children and the court in this matter. Mainly defines the terms of the applicable legislation in divorce matters (care of children after divorce, child's contact with the parents, alimony), which are usually the subject of protracted disputes between parents. The introductory section also mentions the importance of the family for the child and for society, the characteristics of the contemporary family, as well as divorce and its possible impact on the child and the wider surroundings of the family. In the empirical part, the work focuses on comparing the practices of social workers of the authority child protection offices in Prague with practices of social workers at the offices of towns in the Central Region in divorce issues, particularly in the area of investigation in the family. Next it examines also procedures of courts.

Children have been shown to respond differently to the hurt that they suffer at the hands of others. Some of these responses involve internalised behaviours (i.e., repression of feelings, bodily symptoms, etc.); whilst others hurt manifest as externalised behaviours, such as physical attacks on others. These may include sexualised behaviours. The latter is particularly common amongst (but not restricted to) children who have been sexually abused (The American Psychological Association, 2001). For the purposes of this study a distinction is made between developmentally appropriate sexual behaviour and non normative sexualised behaviour which evoke complaints from and discomfort in those involved in the behaviour. The manifestation of these sexualised behaviours is especially pronounced amongst children in institutional care; and hence, it calls for constructive and effective management by the child care workers who are primarily responsible for their safe care and behaviour modification whilst in the institution. This qualitative study – with an exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design – served to explore how the child care workers’ effective management of such behaviours could be enhanced, so that the emotional wellbeing of both the “offender” and the “perpetrator” of this behaviour can be promoted. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit research participants from three different child and youth care centres in Port Elizabeth. A total number of 10 research participants were involved and data was collected up to the point of data saturation. Thematic content analysis was utilised for the analysis of the data and the necessary strategies were employed to enhance the trustworthiness of the data and to meet all the ethical requirements of the study. The main findings alert to the key requirements of Child and Youth Care Workers; it confirms the occurrence of sexualised behaviours; the urgent need for a consistent approach to the management of such behaviours; and for enhanced team work between the helping professionals in the team. The value of the study is embedded in the contributions it can make to practical interventions for children in institutional care, and to the sparse body of knowledge in this area.

No description available.

The purpose of this project is to support health promotion of children entering foster care, ensure that children receive all health care services needed, prevent the trauma of duplication of immunizations, and reduce disruption of health care as children move through the foster care system.

The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding about the experiences and needs of foster parents who care for medically fragile children and indentify characteristics related to providing quality care.

The purpose of this current study is to examine the impact of non-pharmacologic pain interventions administered by trained Child Life professionals in an emergency department on pain perception in children. Results showed no significant decrease in children's pain report during the medical procedure compared to before the medical procedure. However, pain after the medical procedure is significantly less than pain during the medical procedure.

This qualitative study explores the perceived influence of spirituality on ethnic minority adolescent's outcomes in faith-based residential group homes. Study results offer a deeper understanding of the influence and implementation of spiritual practices among children impacted by child welfare.

The purpose of this study was to examine the County of San Bernardino's Independent Living Program's (ILP's) efforts to prepare ILP participants for self-sufficiency. These efforts were evaluated from the perspective of foster youth who are currently participating in an Indepent Living Program. The study utilized quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess the ILP participants' preparedness for independence.

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / The path of children heading families following the death of both parents takes many twists and turns, and a lot of support to face the challenging environment is needed. The path is not easy as compared to children with parents in terms of support and guidance. The purpose of the study was to determine the experiences of children heading families at Makhado municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The objective of this study is to explore and describe the experiences of children heading families. Qualitative research approach with explorative, descriptive, contextual, interpretative phenomenological designs were used. Population of the study comprised of children heading families following the death of both parents, residing at Makhado municipality in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select the participants. The sample size of 20 participants was determined by data saturation. Data was transcribed verbatim and translated from Tshivenda to English language. Tesch’s eight steps criteria was used to analyse data. The results of the study revealed that children heading families following the death of both parent’s experience various challenges and ineffective support from different community structures. The researcher ensured trustworthiness and ethical consideration were considered throughout the study. Recommendations were developed based on the findings of the study. Keywords: Child, Child headed families, Experience, Family, Parent / NRF

Thesis (PhD. (Clinical & Applied Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / This study aims at developing an optimal psychological assessment procedure for determining primary residence allocation for children whose parents are divorcing. The research consisted of two studies: the first study focused on “translating” 13 identified legal constructs formulated by Justice King for safeguarding the best interests of children and the identification of suitable psychometric instruments that can be used to determine how effectively a particular family is functioning. These 13 legal constructs were converted into psychological constructs by three independent clinical psychologists. Following this a psychological assessment procedure for children and parents within a divorce context was developed incorporating the newly developed psychological constructs. The 2nd phase consisted of a sample of 39 families (26 families in the experimental group and 13 families in the control group). Six months later after primary placement the families were followed up in order to determine the psychological “health” of the families concerned using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSE); Index of Family Relations (IFR); Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory (ECBI) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). The means obtained from both the experimental and control groups were compared using the MANOVA analysis. The results from the RSE concluded that the self-esteem of children in the experimental group, improved significantly to those in the control group. The IFR indicated that families in the experimental group had improved significantly at resolving family problems. According to the ECBI the children in the experimental group with behavioural problems improved significantly after primary placement. In all children in the control group did not improve significantly. The Family Assessment Device therefore indicated significant family cohesion. In summary the results indicate that the families in the experimental group were functioning at a higher level in comparison to the control group six months after primary placement.